St. Jean Pied-de-Port, France

The train made it to St. Jean, all 3 cars...
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After 2-hour flight from London Stansted, I arrived in Biarritz Airport, where I took a bus into Bayonne for my train to St. Jean Pied-de-Port (St. John at the Foot of the Pass) and the beginning of the long walk westward to Santiago.

The train wound ever upward into the mountains, chugging along with a positive "I think I can I think I can" attitude along what looked to be a pretty steep incline -- it was about halfway there that I had my first glimpse of the higher mountains... I thought, surely those are not the mountains I will cross!?  Short answer? Yes, they were, but that´s another story.

"I think I can, I think I can"

Last view of St. Jean Pied-de-Port
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Mainly, St. Jean is a cute little town with shops and little restaurants and pensions.  But for Camino walkers, it´s the start of the Big Journey.

The station is tiny, and the train was only three cars long, here´s a photo of both.  I reached the town in the evening, and stayed at the L'Esprit de Chemin, a delightful little pilgrim hostel, in a renovated old house that is hundreds of years old.  Great food, great people, they made me feel so welcome after my long day.  I took a photo of the street and of the famous Gate of St. Jacques, the beginning of the Chemin de St. Jacques (Camino Santiago in Spanish) for many a traveller.